Christie blocks discussion on college affordability

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie vetoed legislation (S2965) last week meant to look at ways to make higher education more affordable in the state.

The bill, aimed to establish a “Higher Education Tuition Study Commission,” was to study the creation of the “Pay Forward, Pay Back” pilot program, among other options.

That pilot program would permit students at public universities to pay back a percentage of their post-graduate income to avoid tuition and fee payments while an undergraduate.

Steve Sweeney, New Jersey Senate President, was “disappointed” by the decision, and said he would be reintroducing the bill in the new session.

“New Jersey’s middle class families and the working poor can’t afford, literally and figuratively, for us to sit idly by and do nothing,” says Sweeney in a written statement.

Christie vetoed the bill claiming that the issues that would have been studied by the proposed commission are being addressed at community colleges and institutions through their own affordable degree pilot programs.

The governor reassured students in his veto message that his administration is working on college affordability.

“My administration has worked to ensure that a college education remains affordable for New Jersey families and that our graduates are not burdened with high levels of student debt,” he wrote.

“I am very frustrated toward his decision about this bill; education is a necessity, this is making the journey in higher ed a lot more stressful than it should be,” says Victoria Cranmer, junior at Rutgers University.

Cranmer predicts she will be at least $30,000 in debt by the time she graduates.

Mikey Craig, junior at Montclair State University, has a similar view. He says the bill would have been very helpful to students in the bigger picture of student debt.

“Being able to pay back our schools after graduation could be beneficial in a few different ways, but arguably the most important one: it would motivate us toward a career that would pay off our debt,” Craig says.

Nicole Lee graduated from Rutgers in December, and is already paying back the debt she owes — entering the “real world” with a $40,000 debt that’s leaving a large hole in her pockets.

Lee thinks the “Pay it Forward” tuition program would take a lot of stress away from students, and give them more time to focus on education rather than juggling jobs to pay tuition.

“Its tough to focus on education when you come from a large middle class family that can’t pay for every kid to get through school,” says Lee.

Graduate student Danielle Simcic agrees that college affordability is an issue in New Jersey, but disagrees that the bill would have made much difference.

“I think it’s a great starting point to open the conversation of higher education and it’s affordability but I do not think it will work in practice.”